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Year II:

Sharing our Ignacian Legacy:

Touching Lives as Contemplatives in Action

THEME: Touching Lives Of The Workers

March Monthly Recollection 2008

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THEME: Touching Lives Of The Workers

OPENING CEREMONY

INTRODUCTION:

The Year II Recollection cycle whose over-all theme Sharing our Ignacian Legacy: Touching Lives

as Contemplatives in Action closes this school

year. Our March recollection Touching Lives of the

Workers is a proper closure of Year II and is meaningfully

connected with our February theme: Touching Lives as a

Missionary Congregation. We affirm that our “missionary

outreach is an essential part of the Eucharistic form of the Christian life“ and the Eucharist is the source and summit in everything that we do particularly in providing meaning to the lives of the people around us like the lay partners, faculty, office staff, carpenters, maintenance staff, employees and workers who collaborate with us in our ministries.

Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo herself embraced work, for she lived “by the sweat of her brow” and when she left her parents’ house, she brought with her needle and scissors, symbols of readiness to work. This is one legacy that she handed down to us her daughters and each one of us had work in our hands, therefore we know how it feels to be a worker. Because of this, we become one with the workers and have brought meaning into their lives by our witness and care.

May this March recollection provide us the time to refresh ourselves in how we become like the image of God in the performance of our work. And as we look forward to end the school year, this recollection is a time to praise God for the opportunity we have in our ability and gift in touching lives of the workers in our midst.

Gathering in the Presence of God

Leader: Let us remind ourselves that God remembers us.

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He has written our names on the palm of his hands – and remains with us, as we pray together:

All: Lord, help me today to realize that you will be speaking to me in various ways,

especially on this recollection day. Open my ears, eyes and heart to perceive you, however veiled your presence may be. Give me insight to see through what is exterior And to what is within me.

Bring me your spirit of discernment. O Lord, you know how long to meet you.

Do not let me forget you, do not forget me. Amen.

(Sir Jacob Ashley)

Opening Song: Up In Every Altar

1. The child steps into his play, the hunter into his woods the fisherman rows up the bay, the young man faces his roads.

Ref: Every heart is ready, Lord. Every heart will ring. Up in every altar, Lord, // Your glory we will sing.//

2. The hills are full of day, the birds are on their wing The seas wake where they lay, the hours their colors bring.

Reading 1 from Teilhard de Chardin, SJ God is not far away from us, is not apart from the world

about us that we see, touch, hear, smell and taste. Rather, he awaits us at every instant in our action, in times of our prayer or in the work of the moment.

There is a sense in which he is at the tip of my pen, my

spade, my brush, my needle- of my heart and of my thought . . . By virtue of Creation – and still more of Incarnation –nothing here

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below is profane for those who know how to see. On the contrary, everything is sacred.

Offering: (Recite this verse with hands open, palms up.)

Lord, we bring our work to your working hands We bring our sickness to your healing hands.

We bring our weakness to your strong hands. We bring our sadness to your tender hands.

We bring our needs to your praying hands. We bring our suffering to your wounded hands.

We bring our love, our families, and our children. To your hands, outstretched to bless.

We bring our hands to share with you that Bread of Life which we take from you, that we may take sacramental presence to share with others.

As we take your hands, We are to be those hands in the world today.

(C.I. Pettitt)

Reading 2: by St. Teresa of Avila

Christ has no body now on earth but ours. Ours are the only hands with which he can go about doing good. Ours are the only eyes through which his compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world. Christ has no body now on earth but ours and ours are the hands with which he is to bless others now. (PAUSE)

Closing Song: Pagmamahal Sa Panginoon

Koro: Pagmamahal sa Panginoon ay simula ng karungan; Ang Kanyang kapuriha’y manatili magpakailanman.

1. Dakilang gawain ng Diyos, karapat dapat pag-aralan Ng tanang mga taong sumasamba sa Kanya.

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2. Kahanga-hanga ang gawa ng Diyos ng kalwalhatian: Handog ay kaligtasan sa atin binibigay. PRAYER HOUR 1: Biblical Creation and the Worker

Grace to Ask: To refresh our spirit with the basic foundation on

human work and be inspired by its challenges.

Reading: Genesis 1, 26-2,3

God said: “Let us make human in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the

earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that move on the earth.” God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant over all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were

completed. Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

Personal Reflection

Work distinguishes us from the rest of creatures. We are God’s image partly through the mandate He gave as Creator to

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subdue, to dominate, the earth. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” These words refer to the heavy toil that accompanied human work; in order that we achieve that “dominion” on the earth. We understand that “by earth” means the whole visible world, “all the resources” which through our conscious activity can be discovered and used for our purpose. Technology is understood as the set of instrument we use in work and thus an extension of the fulfillment of the creation mandate.

Work is the way to exercise dominion over nature, and

helps us to fulfillment as human beings. Therefore industriousness is a virtue, a moral habit, whereby we become good persons. Work helps establish the family, the nation, and the whole human family . . . all the people living in the world. Work promotes human

dignity, solidarity and freedom on this present earth. The beatas of Tamontaka Mission continued to work as

legacy of Venerable Ignacia as they inculcated the dignity of work and the virtue of industriousness among the Tamontaka youth. They trained the boys to work in the fields and the girls with household chores.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I give you my hands, to do your work. I give you my feet, to go your way. I give you my eyes, to see as you do. I give you my tongue, to speak your words. I give you my mind, that you may think in me. I give my spirit, that you may pray in me. Above all, I give you my heart that you may love me. I give you my whole self, that you may grow in me so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who work and pray in me. Amen.

PRAYER HOUR 2: Christian Spirituality of Work.

Grace to Ask: To create a space and time to thank and praise the

Lord for workers who have helped us in our ministry and for workers

who are inspired by our presence and company.

Reading:

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Pope John Paul Il's 1981 encyclical On Human Work is greatly to be praised for its stand on the biblical creation record. It affirms the dignity of work, elimination of class differentiations while making the person the object rather than the subject of work. The Pope agrees that worker solidarity be open to all persons, the work of women including motherhood, affirms agricultural, disabled, and emigrant workers; and the emphasis of Christian spirituality of work.

Pope Leo XIII had confirmed the fundamental rights of

workers. He defines dignity of work as "to exert effort for the sake of procuring what is necessary for the various purposes of life, and first of all for self-preservation." Work is the vocation of every person, one’s personhood is fulfilled by working. Work has a "social" dimension through its intimate relationship to the family, to the common good and the health of the earth.

Personal Reflection:

As Venerable Ignacia’s beatas of today, let us praise God, inspire, direct and touch lives of the workers whom we encounter by reminding them and witnessing to them that work spirituality is:

☻ having inherent values, greater than our roles, titles and possessions.

☻ affirming meaning and purpose in spite of conflict and misunderstanding in the workplace.

☻ emphasizing authenticity, inner wisdom, creativity and transformation

☻ Having a servant's attitude towards work and leadership ☻ Embodying spiritual values of integrity, honesty, love, kindness and respect

Prayer:

God, open our eyes and let us see . . . You are there where the farmer is tilling the hard Ground and where the laborer is breaking stones. You are with them in the sun and in the rain,

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and as their garment is covered with dust. Let me put off my white cloak and, like him, come down onto the dusty soil.

You are the God of the poor, the simple and human God, the God who sweats in the street, the God with the weather-beaten face. That’s why I talk to you, in the way that my people talk, because you are the laborer God, and the worker Christ. Amen.

PRAYER HOUR 3: Work with Meaning

Grace to Ask: To have the grace to impel my self to reach out to

workers who need my listening skills or my gestures of

appreciation.

Reading: "Jesus Touching Lives of Workers”

by John Throop

First-century believers saw Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The early church understood Jesus through the lens of Greek philosophy. The medieval church, in a struggle with secular authorities, saw Jesus as judge. The enlightenment and 19th-century period adopted a Jesus who was the Great Moral Teacher. 20th century perspectives of Jesus include Jesus as liberator and now, Jesus as CEO, Chief-Executive-Officer, the ultimate management guru. This development comes as we struggle to understand the work we do and to invest it with meaning and purpose. Catholic theology has always viewed production, commerce, and work as appropriate expressions of one's vocation. God calls all people to exercise their unique gifts wherever they are.

Thus, the need to find meaning, within the workplace is

necessary. At work, one can find a sense of community, which is the secular counterpart of church itself. Workers today are anxious to nurture their spirituality, not just in church on Sundays, but throughout the week in the work-place. Thus the popularity of management styles that emphasize teamwork, mission, vision,

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values, and core beliefs. Employees are now associates. The management style has moved from "command-and-control" to "regulation-and-permission." Who do modern managers seek to emulate? Jesus, of course. Numerous successful corporation types have written books that share insights gleaned explicitly from the life and ministry of Jesus. This development should encourage us, beatas of today, in order to address the concerns of people who desire to work Monday through Friday, who take seriously the call to grow spiritually in the vocation in which God has placed them

Personal Reflection:

Work spirituality needs to be integrated into the corporate

culture and reflected in organizational policies and practices on a daily basis. This can be done only when, as employers and governing board, we embrace it as part of our vision.

Our retreat ministry commits to grow in the gentleness of

Jesus, and the education ministry witness the loving compassion of Jesus, the Teacher. Our social ministry commits to incarnate the compassion of Jesus, the dormitory ministry embody Mary’s care and the special ministry witness the healing power of the Risen Lord. Suffice to say that in these workplaces of our ministries, each RVM, as a CEO can do great deeds for the workers and continue touching their lives. Then we will see the following changes at the workplace:

• Management with a mission will replace management of efficiency and control.

• There will be a shift from fear-based culture to love-based culture.

• Management practices and decisions will be clearly consistent with spiritual values such as integrity, honesty, love, hope, kindness, respect and nurturing.

• Spirituality is about bringing passion - bringing your heart, soul and spirit - to what you do, because from a spiritual

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perspective, work has a deeper meaning and serves a higher purpose.

• Management learns to truly listen and builds a safe place where workers can speak the truth without fear of repercussions.

Blessing

Remind us, Lord, that the end of our prayer is not the end of our time with you.

Our leaving you in prayer only brings us to join you once again in those to the workers whom you send us.

Bless us during this recollection day and bless the work and service of many kinds that we will do in our way.

Bless us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and continue- through us –

to create, love and inspire, this day and always. Amen

PRAYER FOR SUCCESS IN SEEKING A JOB

Loving Father, you reveal yourself to us most fully in Jesus, your Son, the craftsman of Nazareth.

Like him we know that work can lead us to grow more fully human, building up our self-respect and dignity and confidence, as well as being the means for providing for those we love.

You enable us Father, to make our own imprint on our work, just as you can create us in your image and likeness -for we are the work of your hands, molded from the clay of our earth and installed with the breath of your Spirit.

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You commission us, Father, to shape our world which you love so much, and in our creativity we can share in your own work as Creator.

As people we love seek work, Father, fill them anew with your Spirit. Touch employers and situations, so that through your guidance

People we love will find a job that will be right for them and will be a new beginning.

I pray for your blessing, Father, as I stand beside all for whom there is no work, all who are unhappy and unfulfilled in the jobs that they do.

I pray that I may learn from the difficulties and frustrations I have faced during those times, so that I may be sensitive towards all who come into my life.

As I work alongside others, Father, lead me to develop a sense of solidarity, learning that we complement one another and are, indeed, brothers and sisters.

Smile upon us, Father, as you look at us for I know that you see in each of us the face of Jesus, your Son and our Brother,

the craftsman of Nazareth. Amen. ( Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC)

Sources: - Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC. (2006) Walk in My Presence. Matthew James Publishing. England - Throop, John. Jesus in the corner office . Clergy Journal, Nov/Dec 2000 (Vol 77, No 2). Pages 3-6. Topic: work and religion. - RVM 18

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